Conservation and sustainable fishing of sharks and rays
Sharks and rays are one of the world’s most threatened species groups, primarily due to overfishing in both targeted and bycatch fisheries. Over one-third of shark and ray species are currently at risk of extinction. Practical fisheries management action is required to significantly reduce shark fishing mortality. However, creating systems and incentives for implementing shark conservation is complicated by the high economic value of global commercial fisheries (with high levels of shark bycatch) and the socio-economic vulnerability of small-scale fishers (many of which depend on sharks for food security, income and employment).
Our applied research aims to first understand the underlying socio-economic drivers of shark fishing and potential trade-offs between shark conservation and fisheries objectives. We then use this understanding to design practical management options for maximizing conservation and well-being outcomes, in case study sites and at scale. Moreover, we work with local communities, decision makers and NGOs to test interventions, develop institutions, and create meaningful long-term change for sharks and people.
Current projects include case studies from both small-scale and commercial fishing sectors, particularly in Indonesia and India, where we are trialling incentive-based schemes for bycatch reduction, blending local ecological knowledge with scientific understanding of shark and ray ecology, and exploring supply chains for threatened species.
To complement this grounded research we are also developing novel methods for estimating the footprints of small-scale and commercial fisheries based on third-party satellite data, and translating these footprints into risk assessments for endangered sharks and rays.
Blogs and updates:
Research to action: Enhancing marine conservation and fisheries policy, for biodiversity and well-being outcomes in Indonesia
India needs more conservation-relevant research on sharks and rays
Entangled: Elasmobranch conservation in India
Publications:
Booth, H., Ichsan, M., Hermansyah, R. F., Rohmah, L. N., Naira, K. B., Adrianto, L., & Milner‐Gulland, E. J. (2021). A socio‐psychological approach for understanding and managing bycatch in small‐scale fisheries. People and Nature.
Booth, H., Ramdlan, M. S., Hafizh, A., Wongsopatty, K., Mourato, S., Pienkowski, T., … & Milner-Gulland, E. J. (2023). Designing locally-appropriate conservation incentives for small-scale fishers. Biological Conservation, 277, 109821.
Gupta, T., Milner‐Gulland, E. J., Dias, A., & Karnad, D. (2023). Drawing on local knowledge and attitudes for the conservation of critically endangered rhino rays in Goa, India. People and Nature.
Booth, H., Mourato, S., & Milner-Gulland, E. J. (2022). Investigating acceptance of marine tourism levies, to cover the opportunity costs of conservation for coastal communities. Ecological Economics, 201, 107578.
Booth, H., Powell, G., Yulianto, I., Simeon, B., Adrianto, L., & Milner-Gulland, E. J. (2022). Exploring cost-effective management measures for reducing risks to threatened sharks in a problematic longline fishery. Ocean & Coastal Management, 225, 106197.
Gupta, T., Karnad, D., Kottillil, S., Kottillil, S., & Gulland, E. M. (2022). Shark and ray research in India has low relevance to their conservation. Ocean & Coastal Management, 217, 106004.
Booth, H., Chaya, F., Ng, S., Tan, V., Rao, M., Teepol, B., … & Gumal, M. (2021). Elasmobranch fishing and trade in Sarawak, Malaysia, with implications for management. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 31(11), 3056-3071.
Booth, H., Squires, D., Yulianto, I., Simeon, B., Adrianto, L., & Milner‐Gulland, E. J. (2021). Estimating economic losses to small‐scale fishers from shark conservation: A hedonic price analysis. Conservation Science and Practice, 3(9), e494.
Booth, H., Arlidge, W. N., Squires, D., & Milner-Gulland, E. J. (2021). Bycatch levies could reconcile trade-offs between blue growth and biodiversity conservation. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5(6), 715-725.
Gupta, T., Booth, H., Arlidge, W., Rao, C., Manoharakrishnan, M., Namboothri, N., … & Milner-Gulland, E. J. (2020). Mitigation of elasmobranch bycatch in trawlers: a case study in Indian fisheries. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 571.
Booth, H., Squires, D., & Milner‐Gulland, E. J. (2020). The mitigation hierarchy for sharks: A risk‐based framework for reconciling trade‐offs between shark conservation and fisheries objectives. Fish and Fisheries, 21(2), 269-289.
Booth, H., Squires, D., & Milner-Gulland, E. J. (2019). The neglected complexities of shark fisheries, and priorities for holistic risk-based management. Ocean & Coastal Management, 182, 104994.
